Endless conveyer



J. P. ROE.

ENDLESS CONVEYER.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 19. 1919.

wfiags ao Patented Dec. 28,1920,

8 SHEETS-SHEET I.

J. P. ROE.

ENDLESS CONVEYER.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 19, 1919.

19% 39 533w Patented Dec. 28, 192% 8 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

P. ROE.

ENDLESS CONVEYER,

APPLICATION FILED APR. 19, l9l9.

Patented Dec. 28,1920

8 SHEETSSHEET 3.

J. P. ROE.

ENDLESS CONVEYER.

APPLICAT'IQN FILED APR. 19, 19I9.

Patented Dec. 28, 19%.

8 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

.I. P. ROE.

ENDLESS CONVEYER. APPLICATION r1150 APR. 19, 1919.

8 SHEETSSHEET 5- J. P. ROE.

ENDLESS CONVEYER.

APPLICATION FILED APR-19,1919.

i aw saso Patented Dec. 28,1929.

8 SHEETS-SHEET 6- J. P. ROE.

ENDLESS CONVEYERA APPLICATION FILED APR. 19, 1919.

1,863,538 Patented Dec. 28, 192% 8 SHEETSSHEET 7.

J. P. ROE.

ENDLESS CONVEYER.

APPLICATION FILED APR-19.1919.

1 8fi8fi38 Patented Dec. 28, 1920).,

8 SHEETSSHEET 8.

JOHN PEARCE ROE, OF FINSBURY, LONDON, ENG-LAND.

ENDLESS CONVEYER.

i ,aeaaaa.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 23, 192d.

Application fi1ed April 19, 1919. Serial No. 291,296.

To all whom it may comer-n:

Be it known that 1, JOHN PEARCE Ron, a subject of the King of GreatBritain and Ireland, residing at Finsbury, in the city of London, Enland, have invented Improvements in or Relating to Endless Conveyers, ofwhich the following is a specification.

This invention has for its object to provide an endless conveyer, usingwire ropesor their equivalent, (hereinafter called ropes) adapted, interalien, to be used where an endless chain conveyer would usually beemployed, and, as compared with which. a rope conveyor, according tothis invention, would be materially less in first cost and upkeep, andwould be applicable to relatively long distance transport.

For this purpose, an endless rope conveyer according to the invention,con'iprises ropes which would ordinarily constitute in etlect suspensionmediums between supports v at considerable distances apart, in place ofthe usual heavy chains supported by more or less continuous girder work,and transverse slate, trunnion bars, or their equivalent, (hereinaftercalled carrier bars), for carrying loads, receptacles, buckets, or thelike, these carrier bars being fastened to and supported by one of theropes which is an endless moving traction rope, and supported or partlysupported at their tree or unattached ends on a separate endless movingrope or ropes, or on a stationary rope or ropes, over which, in eachcase, the said carrier bars can, when necessary, move freely in thelongitudinal direction of the separate moving or stationary rope. Theendless conveyer may also comprise means such as carrier bar guides andassociated appliances whereby parts of the said rope or ropes can, whendesired, be moved out of alinement with other parts thereof and the freeends of the carrier bars brought clear of, and caused to pass from oneside of a rope to the other side thereof, so that the said free ends ofthe carrier bars may derive support from such rope without beingattached thereto, both when moving forward and backward.

Or the carrier bars may be adapted to be moved clear of or from one sideof one rope to the other side of the other rope without deviating partsof the length of such rope.

For distinguishing purposes, a rope to which the carrier bars areattached will hereafter be called a'main rope, and a rope to which thecarrier bars are not attached will be calledan auxiliary rope. Also, fordescriptive purposes, it may be assumed that a conveyer would either behorizontal or lncllned, and'hence when the planes of rope terminalwheels are normally vertical, or lnclined to the vertical, there wouldbe an upper and a lower part of an endless loop of rope, and thisapplies in a like manner tostationary ropes. Hence, for distinction insimple terms, these parts of a rope may conveniently be called upper andlower ropes, respectively.

For deviating parts of an endless moving auxlliary rope or ropes out ofalinement with other parts for the purpose of clearmg the unattached orfree ends of carrier bars as hereinbefore mentioned, guide sheaves ortheir equivalent may be employed, or at terminals the end wheels may becanted and guide sheaves employed in conjunction therewith, While forpassing the free or unattached ends of carrier bars from one side of anauxiliary rope or ropes to the other side of the said rope or ropes, soas, for example to keep the unattached ends of the carrier bars on thetop side of either an upper or lower auxiliary rope, the carrier barends may enter or take on suitably formed guides, along or around whichthey can travel when not supported by an auxiliary rope or ropes.

Or. for the same purpose, the carrier bars may be made telescopic inlength or be pro vided at their free ends with pivoted parts adapted bysuitable guiding means to be moved from the top of one rope and placedon the top of another rope.

Means are also provided for regulating or adjusting the tension, eitherconjointly or independently, of more than one rope with regard toanother, and also compensating gear for causing two or more ropes totravel at the same velocity, together with appliances for supporting thesaid ropes at intervals of their length by means of sheaves, sliders,roller chains, or the like, mounted on suitable supports or frames.Also, similar devices may be provided, adapted. to guide or deflect theropes from a straight line for the purpose of negotiating angles orcurves when this may be desired.

The feature of attaching the carrier bars to one rope only, whilepermitting longitudinal movement of the unattached ends in relation toan auxiliary rope is essential in the case of a rope conveyer operatedby two or more endless moving traveling ropes, I I

-' verse section, on the line 24-24 of Fig. 23.

because, while their respect ve rates of .travel can be equalized bycompensating gear, it is practically impossible to make or splice up aseries oflong loops of rope to form ropes ofthe same length, and "hence,to eliminate strains on the 'carrierbar attachments, due to one loop ofrope being longer than another, the attachments can advantageously bemade to one endless moving rope only, as lie 'einbefore mentioned. By

allowingthe ends of the carrier bars to rest "upon or have contact withan auxiliary rope I or ropes, whilebeing unattached thereto, likewiseprovides for any creep that would be consequent upon working curves,asseen in plan, with a horizontal or'inclined conveyer. f

,It also follows, with the foregoing arrangement, that the length of anauxiliary rope need not correspond. with that of a main or traction ropeseeing that while the earrierbars'and their attachments to the mainjrope pass around the peripheries of their corresponding terminal wheels,the free or unattached ends of the carrier bars may work in guides at'oradjacent to terminals, so that the axis of a terminal wheel for anauxiliary rope need in no way correspond to that of a main or tractionrope terminal wheel.

In the accompanying illustrative drawings, Figures 1 and 2 showrespectively in side elevation and plan, the driving terminal v endportion of the endless conveyer.

end partion of one construction of endless conveyer constructedaccording to the invention and Figs. 3 and 4 are similar views of theother or tension or adjusting termIi nal 1g. 5 shows in vertical sectionon the line 55 of Fig. 6 and Fig. 6 in horizontal section on the line 66of Fig. 5, the driving terminal end of the conveyer shown in Figs. 1 and2 but to a larger scale and in more detail. Fig. 7 shows in verticalsection on the line 7-7, of Fig. 8, and Fig. 8 in plan, a modifiedconstruction of the driving end of the eonveyer. Figs. 9 and 10 showrespectively in vertical section and plan, the opposite or tension endof the conveyer shown in Figs. 3 and '4: but to a larger scale. Figs. 11and 12 are similar views to Figs. 9 and 10 showing amodifiedconstruction.

Fig. 13 shows in side elevation, a modi- Fig. 14 shows in horizontalsection and Figs. 15 and 16 partly in cross section and partly inelevation, a modified arrangement for transferring the free ends of thecarrier bars from one auxiliary rope to another.

Figs. 17 to 21 inclusive show another modipass from one level toanother.

construction of conveyer. Fig. 24 is a trans- 27 and 28 showrespectively in plan and side elevation the tension end, of anotherconstruction of endless conveyer. according to the invention. Fig. 29 isa cross section on the line Z--Z ofFig. 25.

- Figs. 30 and 31, show in side elevation how an endless conveyer can bearranged to F igs. 32 and 33 show, in plan, means for supporting thefree ends of the carrier bars in a sidewise direction.

Figs. 34 and 42 are detail views hereinafter more particularly referredto.

The various arrangements are shown more I or less diagrammatically andnot to scale;

According to the arrangement of endless rope conveyer shown in Figs. 1to 8 inclusive, there are two endless moving ropes a, a and b, 5 theupperparts a and b of which travel in. one direction and the lower partsa and b in the reverse direction. In this case, a, 01 is the main ropeto which transverse carrier bars 0 are fixed by means of clipsd. I) b isthe auxiliary rope, traveling as near as may be at the same velocity asthe main rope and upon which the free or unattached ends 0 of thetransverse carrier bars a rest or are supported, so that while they willtravel with the auxiliary rope b, 6 they will be free to slide thereonlongitudinally, so as to accommodate themselves to working curves or toany slight difference in the 'rate of travel between the main andauxiliary ropes.

e and e are terminal sheaves at the driving and brake or adjustingterminal stations A and B respectively of the endless conveyer forcarrying the main rope (L, c and f f are similar terminal sheaves at thesaid stations for carrying the auxiliary rope b. 6 a

As the carrier bars 0 are attached at one end to the main rope a a andbear at their other end 0 upon the top and outer side of the upperauxiliary rope I) it will be seen that they and their loads will besupported by both ropes. As the carrier bars ap proach or reach, forexample, a driving terminal station A with its edge wheels 6 and f andwith the upper ropes or and b traveling toward the said terminal, theattached ends of the carrier bars 0 with the main rope a a will passaround the periphery of the corresponding main rope wheel 6 and theauxiliary rope I) b will pass around its corresponding terminal wheel f,but at or adjacent thereto a portion 6 of the lower auxiliary rope b isdeviated out of alinement with the remaining portion of the lowerauxiliary rope 6 as by guide rollers ,56 as to become clear of theunattached ends a of the carrier bars 0 and allow these ends to crossits Hpath or axis at a predetermined place. nce, as the unattached endsa of the carrier bars a at such place get no support from the auxiliaryrope, their ends-are then received by a suitably shaped guide 9 (seeFigs. 5 and 6) formed for instance of bentmetal bars, along which theytravel untll passed by the ferred from the top and outer side of an 1upper endless moving auxiliary rope I) to the top and inner side of alower endless moving auxiliary rope 6 The opposite terminal of theendless conveyer having two endless moving loops of rope may be thetension end at terminal station B (see Figs. 9 and 10) and the sequenceof operations or movements associated with the carrier bars 0 at thisend will be identical with what has 'just been described for the loopsof ropes at the driving terminal station A, except that the free ends 0of the carrier bars 0 will be lifted and guided from the top side of thelower auxiliary rope I) to the top side of the upper auxiliary rope b,which at this terminal station willbe the rope deviated out of alinementwith the remaining portion of the said upper auxiliary rope for thepurpose of enabling the unattached free ends of the carrier bars to betransferred from one side of the rope to the other.

The driving arrangement at terminal station A for the ropes a a and b bmay comprise as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, a driving shaft h mounted in astationary frame n and provided with a driving wheel or pulley i andwith two} toothed pinions j and 7' in gear respectively with toothedwheels is, k fixed respectively to the terminal sheaves e and 7" whichare mounted on shaft m.

In Figs. 1 and 2 and in Figs. 5 and 6, the terminal wheels 6 and f arearranged to rotate in vertical planes so that only the adjacent portion6 of the lower rope 1) needs to be deviated out of alinement with theremaining portion of such rope by guide rollers 9. By inclining theterminal wheel f sidewise, as in the arrangement shown in Figs. 7 and 8so that it rotates in a vertical planeinclined to that in which theterminal wheel 6 rotates, the portions 5- of the upper and lower ropes bb are, with the aid of guide sheaves g, deviated laterally from theremaining portions of the upper and lower auxiliary ropes 6 b In Figs. 3and 4 and in Figs. 9 and 10, the

them until they terminal wheel f is canted to rotate in a plane inclinedto the vertical so that only the ortion b of the upper auxiliary rope I)is eviated for the purpose hereinbefore mentioned. 7

In Figs. 11 and 12, the terminal wheel 7 is arranged to rotate in avertical plane like the terminal wheels but it is displaced late-rallywith reference to the main portions of the auxiliary ropes?) b so thatboth portions 6 of such ropes adjacent to the said terminal wheel 7, aredeviated for the purpose hereinbefore mentioned.

The tension arrangement at the terminal station B may comprise, as shownin Figs. 3 and 4, a movable frame n upon which may be mounted theterminal wheels 6, f and a force corresponding to the combined ropetension required, can be imparted to the said tension frame 71) by anyknown or suitable means. But, as the axis of the main rope terminalwheel 6 need not, as

shown, correspond with that of an auxiliary ropeterminal wheel f, asupplementary or auxiliary tension arrangement can be introduced,independently of the main tension, so as to adjust the tension between amain rope a a and an auxiliary rope b b and to take up differentialstretch and so forth. Such supplementary tension gear for the auxiliaryrope I) b may be mounted upon and combined with the tension frame a. Inthe example shown in Figs. 3 and 4;, tension is applied to the mainframe a carrying the rope terminal wheels 6 and f by a weight 0 actingon the frame n through a rope 79 passing over and under guide pulleys 7carried by a stationary frame 8, The terminal wheel I ismounted inbearings 25 capable of being moved along the main frame n by anindependent screw arrangement u. Or the supplementary tensionarrangement may be applied to the auxiliary ropes b b at an intermediatepoint between the terminal stations A and B. Or, alternatively,independent tension gear may be applied separatelyto each rope.

In some cases the single endless movable auxiliary rope b, b, or each oftwo laterallly arranged endless auxiliary ropes, as in a modifiedarrangement hereinafter described may, as shown in Fig. 13, be replacedby two endless movable ropes b 72 arranged so that the loop formed byone is within the loop formed by the other, as seen in side view, andpassing around two terminal sheavesf f or f f at each station, the freeend, or one of the free ends, of each carrier bar 0 extending betweenthe adjacent portions of the two ropes. In this case the free ends 0 ofthe carrier bars pass from the top of the upper portion 6 of the innerrope I), b to the topportion 6 of the outer rope I), b at terminalstation A and from the top portion 6 of the outer rope I), b to the topportion b of the inner rope b, b at terminal station B without having todeviate any of the ropes.

Figs. 14,15 and 16 show one arrangement whereby the free ends 0 of thecarrier barsc. can at terminal stations, be moved from the top of theendless moving au-xiliiary rope I) and placed upon the top of theendless moving auxiliary rope 5 without devlating any portion of eitherrope b I), thus enabling a single endless moving rope, constituted bythe two ropes Z) 6, as in the arrangements shown in Figs. 1 to 12inclusive, to be used. I11 this arrangement the upper and lowerauxiliary ropes I) b pass around vertical terminal sheaves f f and eachcarrier bar 0 is provided with a movable free end portion so that it canbe shortened when it is desired to remove it from the top of one of theropes b or b and lengthened when it is required to replace it on the topof the other rope b or b. For this purpose, in the example now beingdescribed, the free end 0 of each carrier bar a is provided with anendwise movable sleeve 0 provided with two -grooved portions 0 c ofwhich one, namely 0 is designed to bear on the top of the ropes b, b andthe other to bear in a race or guide way G at each terminal station. Theguides at one terminal station, say B, are so bent and arranged that byacting upon the grooved portion 0 on the sleeve 0 of each carrier bar 0,it will lift the corresponding grooved part c from the top of the lowerauxiliary rope b and move it laterally inward with reference to suchrope, as shown in Fig. 16, and guide suchend of the carrier bar whilethe bar is being carried around the terminal wheel 6 by the lowertraction rope a and will then move the sleeve outward and deposit thegrooved part 0 upon the top of the auxiliary rope b (Fig. 15) The guidesG at the opposite terminal station, say A, act in a similar manner toraise the sleeve 0 from the top of the upper auxiliary rope I) and movethem laterally inward to clear the said rope and after being carriedaround in the guides G by the action of the main rope aand terminalwheel 6, are moved outward and placed upon the top of the lowerauxiliary rope 6 Each sleeve 0 may be connected to its carrier bar 0 bya pin and slot connection 0 to limit its endwise movement when notengaged with the guides;

Figs. 17, 18, 19, 2O- and 21 show another arrangement whereby the freeends of the carrier bars 0 can, at terminal stations, be

transferred from one portion of a single moving auxiliary rope to theother and vice versa without deviating any portion of the rope. In thiscase there is pivoted to the free end 0 of each carrier bar 0, a shorttilting bar 0", and at each terminal station there is arranged a pair ofguide bars 9 9 to bear upon the lower auxiliary rope b At the otherterminal station each carrier bar and tilting bar are so moved by theguide bars as to cause the tilting bar to be lifted off the lowerauxiliary rope b and caused to bear upon the upper auxiliary rope I) Themodified construction of endless rope conveyers shown in Figs. 22 and 23comprises a single endless traveling mainrope a, a to which the transerse carrier bars 0 are attached by clips, while at their free ends 0they are supported by and havefree longitudinal movement alongstationary ropes b 5 for which purpose the fi e ends of the carrier barsmay be fitted with rollers 0*. Each of the stationary ropes is fixed atone end to a stationary part c and the other end portion is passedaround guide pulleys 'w and connected to a weight w, or equivalenttension producing means; As the carrier bars 0 approach or reach aterminal wheel 6 or 6 the action will be similar to that alreadydescribed that is to say, the carrier bars attached to the maintraveling rope a, al will pass around the terminal rope wheel, 6 or ewhile the free ends of the carrier bars 0 with their rollers 0* willpass along or around guides g g so arranged in respect to the auxiliarystationary the top side of an upper stationary rope I):

to the top side of a lower stationary rope b at one terminal andalternatively from the top side of the lower stationary rope to the topside of the upper stationary rope b at the other terminal. In this casealso the stationary auxiliary ropes 6 -6 need not be deviated fromalinement with the main rope, as the free ends of the carrier bars canbe passed by means of guides g from one stationary rope to the otherstationary rope in the same vertical plane.

In the modified arrangement shown in full and dotted lines in Fig. 10,there are three sets of ropes, namely a central, orapproximatelycentral, main rope a, a and two endless moving auxiliary ropes b 6arranged at opposite sides of it.

The action at the terminals will be similar to that already described,except that in view of the main rope or, a being central, each carrierbar 0 will have two, namely (right and'left,) free ends, 0 which will becontrolled by corresponding guides 9 (Fig. 10) at the terminals, but asthe carrier bars may in this case be balanced, the terminal guides g maybe either at the ends of the carrier bars, or may be intermediatelyplaced, and the main rope terminal wheels ,6 f and e f may form theguides, or parts thereof.

The foregoing description refers more particularly to endless ropeconveyers which, when operated horizontally or inclined,havesuperimposed ropes with terminal wheels on horizontal or approximatelhorizontal axes, but the invention is equal y applicable to an endlessrope conveyer having terminal wheels in horizontal or approximatelyhorizontal planes, on axes that would be vertical or approximately so.

Figs. 25 to 29 inclusive show an arrangement of this kind where a, a arethe two portions of the main or traction rope to which the carrier bars0 are fixed-at one end, I), b the two portions of the auxiliary ropeupon which the free ends 0 of the carrier bars a bear, 6 and e theterminal wheels for the main or traction rope a a ofwhich '6 is providedwith driving mechanism and f and f the terminal wheels for the auxiliaryrope b, 6 one of'the wheels 7 being adjustable lengthwise of the'conveyer by adjusting means a on the main tension frame n which ispulled endwise by the independent weight 0 to keep the ropes strainedtight. Such an arrangement may usefully be employed where the carrierbars 0 have to convey loads in both directions, because there would beno superimposed ropes, but instead the inside ropes a a and outsideropes b b seeing that transversely they would occupy a more or lesshorizontal plane relatively to each other.

It follows from the foregoing description that the invention isadaptable to varying positions of ropes whether operated in conjunctionwith carrier bar uides g or the I like for the functions previouslydescribed, or not.

Figs. 30 and 31 show how an endless conveyer according to the inventioncan pass from one level to another. In this case the main or tractionropes a a are guided by rollers 1 and 2 from one level to another andare supported at the curved portions 3 and 4 of their length, where theywould otherwise tend to assume straight lines, by a number of rollers 5and 6 and under and over which the ropes a a with the attached ends ofthe carrier bar 0 pass. The auxiliary ropes b 79 carrying the free ends0 of the carrier bars 0 each pass completely around the lower guidewheels 7 and 8 and. also over upper guide wheels 9- and 9*. Fixed curvedguide bars 7 and 8 serve to support and guide the free ends 0 of thecarrier bars a at the places where the gopes1 b 6 pass around the guidewheels When an endless rope conveyer, or part thereof is workedvertically, or is steeply such cases be made for minimizing suchstrains, as also any local rope distortion due to short "baseattachments. purpose may take the form of extensions or theirequivalent, from the carrier bars or their attachments, which will reacton a base on the rope equal to the distance between any two carrierbars, or any intermediate base, by causing an extension from one carrierbar to bear upon or engage with a corresponding part or extension fromanother carrier bar, and so on in sequence. Such extensions and theircorresponding parts have play or movement relatlvely to each other in aplane corresponding to the bend of a rope and when passing around aterminal wheel or the like.

Fig. 32 shows an arrangement of this kind wherein a diagonal bar 10connects the free end 0 of each carrier bar -0 to the rope attachment orclip d of the next carrier bar 0, on the corresponding traction rope a.10 are buckets on the carrier bars.

Alternatively, a rope attachment or clip 45 on a carrier bar c'may, asshown inFig. 33, be so formed as by providing it with an extension 03arranged to take into a recessed portion 61 of an adjacent clip orattachment d on the rope a, as to provide an extended base on the ropein the plane that would not be subject to bending, while the bases ofadjacent clipsd 0Z would be relatively short in a plane at right anglesthereto, corresponding to rope bend in passing around a terminal wheel.

As according to this invention, light ro es Means for this i or theirequivalent worked at considera le 4 in the examples shown in Figs. 1 to12 inclusive, an endless moving main rope constituted by upper and lowerropescm to which the corresponding ends of transverse carrier bars 0 areattached, and one endless moving auxiliary rope constituted by upper andends of the carrier bars a will bear on the top side of either an upperor a lower auxiliary rope I) or 6 between the terminals of the conveyer,so that grooved sheaves 11 of usual construction or form can be employedfor supporting the upper and lower auxiliary ropes b 5 between theterminal stations. But in the case of the main moving ropes a a withcarrier bars 0 attached thereto by means of clips 01, the said carrierbars would be on the outside of a loop comprising an endless moving mainrope, that 1s to say, on the top side of an upper main rope a and on theunderneath side of a lower main rope a The upper main rope a and theparts of the carrier bar clips 01 embracing the portion of the said ropethatwould bear on the intermediate supporting sheaves, can convenientlypass over such sheaves, as well as aroundv terminal wheels. With a lowermain rope a however, while those parts of the rope between carrier barsmay be supported by sheaves of usual form, the carrier bars 0 with theirclip tightening devices d on the underside of the lower moving main ropea will form obstacles to their smooth passage over such intermediatesheaves. Consequently it is desirable to provide means whereby, forinstance, when a carrier bar 0 on a lower main rope a would make contactwith an intermediate sheave, the lower rope a and clip device d will belifted clear of the intermediate sheave groove, and become supported byone or more carrier bars 0 bearing upon a suitably formed flange on thesheave. To minimize the shock of lifting a traveling rope b by means ofsheave flanges acting on the carrier bars, more than one rotating flangeor disk working in series may be employed, as shown in side elevation inFig. 36, where three plain liftin disks 12, mounted on axes at differentheights, are arranged gradually to lower rope a. clear of thecorresponding intermediate grooved guide sheave for such rope.

Or the fixed end of each carrier bar 0 and clip d may, as shown in Fig.37, carry an inclined extension 13 adapted to engage the plain peripheryof the lifting sheave 12 and gradually lift the clip on therope clear ofthe associated intermediate grooved su porting sheave 11 and thus avoidshock. r the fixed ends of the carrier bars 0 may first make contactwith an inclined slide or bar,

roller chain or the like, from which they would pass on to a sheave forlifting the clips al free from the associated groovedsupporting sheave.

Alternatively, when carrier bars 0 areclosely spaced, as shown forinstance in Figs.

tirely supported thereby at an intermediate part of its length withoutthe employment of guide sheaves directly in contact with the said rope.

The above means for avoiding shock between intermediate supportingsheaves and the carrier bar clips (l on a lower main rope a,particularly refer to a conveyer having two endless loops of travelingrope, with carrier bars attached to the main rope on one side of aconveyer and extending transversely to and over an auxiliary rope on theother side, as in Figs. 1 to 12 inclusive. But with a conveyer havingthree endless traveling loops of rope as shown in full and dotted linesin Fig. 10, the center loop being the main rope a, a to which thecarrier bars 0 are attached, and the two outer loops 6, b and b 6 beingauxiliary ropes, the supporting means between terminal may comprise ropesheaves of usual form, one of which is shown at'll in Fig. 35 seeingthat, as already described, the upper ropes at b, b can pass smoothlyover their corresponding supporting sheaves, while the lower or return.ropes b b may be supported in the same manner, except the lower centralmain rope (1. with its clip attachments d, because with thisarrangement, the auxiliary ropes b b will support the carrier bars 0- at.both of their ends, and the lower main rope a may in turn derive itssupport from the carrier the carrier bars should be transferred fromlift the end of the carrier bars 0 fixed to the the top of each of theauxiliary ropes b to the topof each of the lower auxiliary ropes 6because the two ends of each bar by bearing against the lower side ofeach of the lower auxiliary ropes will be prevented from turning aboutthe lower central traction rope a to which the central portions of thebars are fixed. Therefore, in such an arrangement of endless conveyer, alower maincentral traveling rope a with its attached carrier bars 0, maybe supported between terminal stations by intermediate sheaves, rollerchains, slides, or equivalent as hereinbefore described with referenceto Figs. 34 to 39 inclusive, iniwhich case the lower and outer auxiliaryropes b b may rest upon the top sides of the corresponding carrier barsnear their outer ends, so that the lower auxiliary ropes will derivetheir su port from the main ropethrough the me ium of the carrier bars.

In the case of a conveyer with endless traveling loops of rope in ahorizontal .plane, or approximately so, in relation to each other, as inthe arrangement of endless conveyer shown in Figs. 25 to 29 inclusive,any projecting clip attachments d would normally be on the top sideandtherefore all the ropes may be supported by sheaves of usual form.

Where stationary or standing auxiliary ropes are employed, as in Figs.22 and 23, they may, instead of passing over sheaves or the like, besupported by saddles 16 (see Fig. 22) mounted upon the intermediatestandards.

Reference has already been made to working curves or angles, and as thecarrier bars are attached to one rope only, slip or creep may take placebetween the unattached ends of carrier bars and an auxiliary rope orropes. Hence curves are practicable in endless conveyers according tothis invention, and may be negotiated by means of sheaves, rollers, orother equivalents arranged or canted to take the thrust or pressure of arope or ropes, due to their deviation from a straight line.

It is further to be noted that as the ropes are flexible in alldirections, their transverse planes in respect to each other, may bealtered so as, in effect, to form a spiral. That is to say, a series ofvertical, inclined, or horizontal ropes, viewed endwise may have theiraxes in a transverse plane arranged in one direction at a certain partofa conveyer and have the said plane twisted at another part or partsthrough any desired angle over a pre-arranged or given length ofconveyer.

The attachment of the carrier bars 0 to a main rope a, a may be by meansof clips, conveniently of the construction shown in I end and side viewsin Figs. 40 and 41 respectively.

According to this construction, a thin horse-shoe shaped band or strip17 of metal is adapted to encircle half the circumference of a rope a ora in such a manner, as shown, that it will freely pass around terminalwheels and over intermediate supporting sheaves against which a ropewith a series of such bands will make contact. T he said band isprovided with extensions 18 for screw nuts19, or alternatively for thereceprope.

tion of cotters such extensions being adapted to pass throughcorresponding holes in a suitably formed part-of a carrier bar 0, sothat when the nuts, or cotters, as the case may be,

aretightenetl', the corresponding part of the carrier bar would be brouht hard home on one side of the rope, while the horse-shoe band, wouldbe drawn tightly around the other side. Or, as shown, between the rope aand the carrier bar 0 a distance piece 20 may be inserted, or suchdistance piece may form an integral part of the carrier bar, and begrooved to receive the adjacent side of a The said grooved part of thedistance piece may have a helical projection, or pro.- jections,conforming to the lay of the rope, so as to provide a lock in additionto a frictional grip.

Fig. 4:2 shows in end view a modified. form of CllP device according towhich one end of the carrier bar 0 is recessed, as shown, to fit therope a and is fixed thereto by a correspondingly recessed cover strip 21and nuts and bolts 22.

While adhering to the main features of the invention, it is obvious thatdetails of parts and the arrangements thereof hereinbefore described canbe varied to suit different requirements.

Thus means of any known or suitable kind may be provided, for preventingany difference in speed between the traction rope a, a and auxiliaryrope b, b, or ropes, that might otherwise arise for any reason.

The carrier bars can be made of various shapes and dimensions to suitrequirement.

Thus, they may be straight from end to end (see Fig. 24:), or bedepressed, (see Fig. 34). or raised at intermediate portions of theirlengths, or be provided with lateral stops to revent sidewise motion ofboxes or other articles placed upon them. Also, they may be adapted tocarry buckets (see 10*, Figs. 32 and 33) or like receptacles of known orsuitable kind for holding coal and other loose material that can bedumped where necessary in known ways.

In some cases the free ends 0 of the car-- rier bars 0 may be adapted toprevent them from moving vertically with reference to the auxiliaryropes b, 6 without however inter fering with their ability to movelongitudi nally with reference to the said ropes. Thus, each free end ofa carrier bar may be made rope supporting means over which said ropetravels and between which it is freely suspended, transverse carrierbars fixed to said rope and having free end portions and an auxiliarysuspension rope system independent of the traction rope and from thecarrier bars but arranged to support the free ends of said bars.

2. A conveyer according to claim 1, wherein the traction rope andauxiliary rope system are arranged in substantially parallel verticalplanes.

3. A conveyer of the kind herein referred to, comprising an endlesstraveling traction rope, supporting means over which said rope works andbetween which it is freely suspended, transverse carrier barsfixed tosaid traction rope and having free end portions, an auxillar-ysuspension traveling rope system independent of the traction rope anddisconnected from the carrier bars butar- "ranged to support the freeend portions 5. A conveyer of the kind herein referred to, comprising.an endless suspended traction rope, an auxiliary rope systemlndependent'- of the traction rope, terminal sheaves around which thetraction rope and auxiliary rope system work and from which they aresuspended, transverse earner bars fixed to the traction rope and havingfree end portions supported by the auxiliary rope system, means fordriving the traction rope and tension means for imparting the desiredtension to the traction rope and auxiliary rope system.

- 6. A conveyer of the kind herein referred to, comprising an endlesstraveling suspension traction rope, transverse carrier bars fixed tosaid rope and having free end portions, an auxiliary rope system havingportions thereof arranged substantially parallel to the forwardly andbackwa'rdly traveling portions of the traction rope and adapted tosupport the free end portions of the carrier bars, terminal sheaves forthe traction rope and means arranged near the terminal sheaves for thetraction rope and means arranged near the terminal sheaves adapted toguide the free end portions of the carrier bars from one portionv of theauxiliary rope system to another portion thereof when the traction ropepasses around the terminal sheaves.

7. A conveyer of the kindherein referred to, comprising an endlesstraveling suspension traction. rope, transverse carrier bars fixed tosaid rope and having free end portions, anauxiliary rope systemcomprising upper and lower portions arranged in a plane substantiallyparallel to upper and lower portionsof the endless traction rope andadapted to support the free ends of the carrier bars, terminal sheavesfor the traction rope and means arranged near the terminal sheavesadapted to guide the free end portions of the carrier bars from an upperportion of the auxiliary rope system to a lower portion thereof.

8. A conveyer of the kind herein-referred to, comprising an endlesstraction rope, transverse carrier bars fixed thereto, terminal wheelsaround which the endless traction rope travels, a second travelingropeway adapted to loosely support the free ends of such carrier barsand means adapted to automatically, receive and support the free ends ofthe carrier bars and guide the same from one part of the travelingsupporting ropeway to another part thereof, substantially as described.

9. A conveyer of the kind herein referred to, comprising an endlesstraction rope, transverse carrier bars fixed thereto, terminal wheelsrotating in vertical planes around which the endless traction ropetravels, a second ropeway parts of which follow a course parallel to theportions of the traction rope which move 'in opposite directions and areadapted to loosely support the free ends of the carrier bars and meanswhereby such free ends of the bars are conducted from the upper side ofa part of the supporting ropeway to the upper side of another part ofsuch ropeway adjacent to a portion of the traction rope traveling in thereverse direction, substantially as described.

10. A conveyer ofv the kind herein rerope, carrier bars fixed thereto,terminal wheels, rotating in vertical planes, around which the endlesstraction rope travels, a second endless traveling ropeway parts of whichtravel in the same direction as oppositely moving portions of thetraction rope and are adapted to loosely support the free ends of the.bars and means whereby such free ends of the bars are conducted fromthe upper side of a part of the supporting ropeway to the upper side ofanother part of such ropeway adjacent to a portion of the traction ropetraveling in the reverse direction, substantially as described.

11. A conveyer of the kind herein referred to comprising an endlesstraction rope, cartating in vertical planes, around which the tractionrope travels, a second ropeway parts of which, instantaneouslyconsidered, are.- m the same horizontal plane as correspond.

ing portions of the traction rope and serve to support the free ends ofthe bars, and

means whereby such free ends of the bars are conducted from the upperside of a part of the supporting ropeway to'the upper side of anotherpart of suchropeway adjacent to a portion of the traction rope travelingin the reverse direction, substantially as derope and are adapted toloosely support the free ends of the bars and means whereby such freeends of the bars. are conducted moving part of the tractionrope,substanfrom the upper side of a part of the supporting ropeway to theupper side of another part of such ropeway adjacent to a portion of thetraction rope traveling in the reverse direction, substantially asv.described. 1 I

13. A conveyer of the kind herein referred to, comprising an endlesstraction rope, carrier bars fixed thereto, terminal wheels, rotating invertical planes, around which the traction rope travels, a secondendless ropeway parts of which are arranged parallel to correspondingportions of the traction rope and adapted to loosely support the freeends of the carrier bars, means locally deflecting such endlesssupporting ropeway from the parallel position so that the free ends ofthe bars can run ofi said supporting ropeway and means for sup-' portingsaid free ends after leaving said portion of the ropeway and guidingthem on to the upper side of a portion of the su porting ropewayadjacent to a reverse y tially as described.

14. A conveyer of the kind herein referred to comprising an endlesstraction rope, carrier bars fixed thereto, terminal wheels, rotating invertical planes, around which the tractlon rope travels, a secondropeway parts of which, instantaneously considered, are in the samehorizontal plane and parallel to corresponding portions of the tractionro e travehng in the same direction as opposite y moving portions of thetraction rope which ropeway parts are adapted to. loosely support thefree ends of the bars aforesald, means locally deflecting such endlesssupporting ropeway from the parallel position so that the free ends ofthe bars can run ofi' said supporting ropeway and means for supportingsaid free, ends after leaving said portlon of the ropeway andguidingthem on to the upper side of a portion of the supporting ropewayadjacent .to a reversely moving part of the traction rope, substantiallyas described.

15. A conveyer of the kind herein referred to, comprising an endlesstraction rope, earner bars fixed thereto, terminal wheels, rotating invertical planes, around which the traction rope travels, a secondendless ropeway parts of which are arranged parallel to portions of thetraction rope and are adapted to loosely support free ends of the bars,a terminal wheel for such ropeway disposed beyond one or the terminalwheels of the traction rope and occupying a plane inclined to thelatter, guide wheels locally deflecting such supporting ropeway I fromthe arallel position so that the free ends of the liars can run ofisuchsupporting ropeway and means for supporting said free ends afterleaving said portion of the ropeway and guiding them on to theupper sideof a portion of the supporting ropeway adjacent to a reversely movingpart of the traction rope, substantially as described.

16. A conveyer of the kind'herein referred to,"comprising an endlesstraction rope, car

rier bars fixed thereto intermediate of their length and a ropewayconsistin of two independent sections adapted to oosely sup-' port theopposite ends of said bars during both directions of travel,substantially as described.

17. A conveyer of the kind herein referred to, comprising an endlesstraction rope, carrier bars fixed thereto intermediate of their lengthand a ropeway consisting of two independent endless traveling sectionsadapted to loosely support the opposite ends of said bars during bothdirections of travel, substantially as described.

18. A conveyer of the kind herein referred to, comprising an endlesssuspension traction rope, terminal sheaves at the terminal stations,around which said rope works, carrier bars fixed to said rope and havingfree end portions, an auxiliary suspension rope system independent ofthe traction rope, adapted to support the free end portions of thecarrier bars, means. for supporting the upper and lower portions of thetraction rope at one or more points between its terminal sheaves, thesupporting means for the lower ortion of the traction'rope being of anantlfriction nature and adapted to act upon the carrier bars and liftthe rope, and means for supporting the auxiliary rope system at one ormore places between the terminal station's.

Signed at London, England, this 21st day

